Author Topic: Identity theft (Read 102 times)

tbrannon · « **on:** April 09, 2008, 09:24:53 PM »

Just wanted to share the hassles my wife and I are currently going through in hopes that it will encourage others to be proactive in protecting their identity.

We received a call about a week ago from a national jewelery chain (Sterling jewelers)- they were checking in to see if my wife was in one of their stores applying for credit to purchase jewelery- she wasn't. A woman in Albuquerque was using my wife's maiden name to apply for credit. My wife attended UNM, so the only thing we can think is that someone took her name, drivers license and SS # off of some school documents or an old job application.

Luckily, the jewelery store was on top of things and nabbed the woman. She was arrested, but then the damage began to unfold. I have to say that we were exceptionally lucky- the thief had a 4 or 5 day spree starting in late March using my wife's name, but in that time opened accounts at 5 or 6 major national chains.

The details are unfolding slowly- the activity on my wife's credit report is beginning to appear and so far the total amount charged on 2 of the accounts is over $8,000.

My wife and I are VERY tight with our information. We shred everything, check our credit twice per year and have one credit card- the same card since we got married 7 years ago. Being careful is NOT enough. Think about how often you dole out personal details.... the doctors office, health insurance, car insurance, starting utilities for your home, phone bills.... it's out there floating around and I really urge all of you to be proactive in protecting yourself so that you don't have to go through this hassle.

You get a free credit report once a year- my suggestion is to rotate credit agencies. Get a report from one agency and then ask for one from another 4 months later- that gets you 3 free checks per year. I would also highly suggest that you read the Federal Trade Commission's website on ID Theft. It gives tips for setting credit alerts or credit freezes on your accounts. There are several major companies that will do these things for you for a monthly fee- and save you the hassle of having to deal with the credit agencies (who make communication a chore). I'm not here to advertise for any of the services, just encourage all of you to look long and hard at your situation and to do something to avoid the hassle that we're going through at the moment.

2400wattman · « **Reply #1 on:** April 09, 2008, 11:12:34 PM »

I too am a victim. Somebody in my town tried to file a tax return using my name and all other info. This person filed electronically and wanted it direct deposited to their account. I currently owe back taxes and this character's so called $5200.00+ return was applied to the balance I owe! It seems that this should be wrapped up pretty quickly but I fear it will take a lot longer even though this is the only offense against me.

briant · « **Reply #2 on:** April 09, 2008, 11:22:31 PM »

I had one of my credit cards compromised online about a year and a half ago. It was an account that I rarely used and I was going to be paying off when I got paid for a certain gig. I eventually saw that someone in Europe (I?m in the states) had been making a few hundred dollars worth of purchases every 3 weeks or so. That had gone on for nearly 4 months before I realized it.

Long story short I contacted the credit card company, they cancelled that card, issued me a new one, reimbursed me for the nearly $1000 worth of transactions, and it went away. Ever since then I have only used one credit card online and I watch the statements like a hawk. It is scary how easy it is for someone to obtain your information and seriously screw things up for you. Keep an eye out my brothers.

811952 · « **Reply #3 on:** April 10, 2008, 05:18:53 AM »

About a year ago I bought some Panoptx sunglasses from a vendor in San Diego. On our next statement were a handful of charges at a Pizza Hut in San Diego. The credit card company was really good about dropping those charges. Pizza Hut? Go figure..

John

glocke · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2008, 05:28:42 AM »

Somehow someone managed to get my checking account info and used it to join porn sites. All the companies involved dropped the charges, but this is a perfect example of I never thought it would happen to me.

Since than Ive kept a close eye on that account, and am close to canceling all credit cards but one (I currently have 5, but find that amount to be too hard to keep track of).

keith_h · « **Reply #5 on:** April 10, 2008, 06:24:32 AM »

I've been fortunate so far. I have always refused to provide my SS# when alternatives exist. Did the same for my daughters when they went to college. Although it made things like adding money to their food accounts difficult we had school issued id numbers issued instead of using their SS#.

One one of my big concerns with our market oriented economy is lack of personal privacy. All of these companies accumulate/buy/sell all types of information about you without your explicit permission. Most of it kept in networked computers. This information is quite easy to get a hold of with a little knowledge and persistence.

I have two credit cards. A personal one and one from my company. Just a something to keep in mind on company cards, they usually go against your credit report when things go wrong. So keep close track of those also.

A common scam is to read a person credit card with a hand held scanner and then use the number to make purchases. It can be the person behind the counter, your server when they go to ring up the bill or just about anybody. Another scam is stealing those preapproved credit offers from your mail. These originate from lists the credit bureaus sell to credit card companies. The best thing to do here is inform the credit bureaus that you do not want to participate. A single call to an 800 will stop it for two years and a letter permanently.

Keith

tbrannon · « **Reply #6 on:** April 10, 2008, 06:54:08 AM »

Glad to hear that there are quite a few who are vigilant about watching their personal/business accounts. BUT....

My main warning is to closely monitor your personal credit history. This woman was establishing new credit accounts in my wife's name using false addresses- if we hadn't been alerted and she hadn't been caught, we would have had NO idea that these accounts even existed- the bills would have been sent to a false address. We wouldn't have know unless we had done a credit report check.

My personal credit card is easy enough to monitor, but the thought that this woman might have gone on for 6 months or a year or indefinetly is sobering.

I really urge everyone to not only monitor their established accounts, but to make sure that somebody isn't using your info to create new ones.

flaxattack · « **Reply #7 on:** April 11, 2008, 07:59:59 AM »

i dont know if others posted this but being in the mtg biz
call the credit reporting agencies and have them put a note on your credit report that all calls for credit require verbal authorization from you.
this way anybody trying to steal your identity makes the store etc contact you directly
the credit agencies are experian, trans union and equifax- i believe they call this putting a hawk alert on your report. this should help you
also when you contact them advise them that you have been a victim of identity theft and which accts are not yours= they will mark the creditor as a dispute and that could have less impact on hurting your scores
if you need more help email me

tbrannon · « **Reply #8 on:** April 11, 2008, 08:20:22 AM »

Thanks Jeff-

We've put a 'freeze' on our SS #'s with the credit agencies, which is exactly what you've described above (or so they tell me). No new credit issued without verbal authorization from us. We should be OK with the disputes- all the stores let this woman open these accounts in my wife's maiden name (when we've been married for 7 years) and using an address in NM, where my wife last lived in '99. They all dropped the ball on this one-

We caught it real time- there aren't any accounts that have been open for months, so there isn't any damage to my wife's credit from this. Scary lesson that has also been a huge hassle.

flaxattack · « **Reply #9 on:** April 11, 2008, 09:16:47 AM »

you are lucky it got caught when it did
i have seen borrowers slammed by not knowing what goes on with their credit history

a good piece of advice- have your credit reports run once a year- you are entitled to a free report 1x per yr.

lasltly- if i were you and i knew the name of the person who nailed the perp- i would send flowers !

tbrannon · « **Reply #10 on:** April 11, 2008, 10:51:34 AM »

We've decided that since we get 1 free report with each agency that we'll request them on a rotational basis- every four months we get a report from one of the companies. Prior to all this I did the once yearly- it's not near enough IMO.

On your last point- we've already done so. Kay Jewelery in Albuquerque NM had some lovely flowers delivered on Tuesday.

Thanks for all your advice Jeff- it's a horrible situation to be in and I'm sure you've seen some tragic cases in the mortgage business.